Gulich, Pivec help No. 22 Oregon St women edge No. 18 ASU

by The Associated Press

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) —

Marie Gulich scored the last three points and Mikayla Pivec got a hand on a potential game-tying shot as No. 22 Oregon State defeated No. 18 Arizona State 57-54 in a Pac-12 showdown Friday night, handing the Sun Devils their first loss in six games.

Gulich scored a game-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting for Oregon State (12-4, 3-2). Her left-handed drive on three defenders with 40 seconds left in the game gave the Beavers a 56-54 lead. She made one of two free throws with 17 seconds to go as Arizona State's leading scorer Robbi Ryan fouled out.

Ryan had tied the game at 54-54 with just under a minute left to play. The Sun Devils (13-4, 4-1) called a full timeout with 16.1 seconds showing on the clock, but a Courtney Ekmark desperation 3-point attempt was partially blocked by Pivec and fell well short.

Ryan scored 19 for Arizona State, matching her career high. Arizona State shot 22 of 63 (35 percent), though the Sun Devils made six 3-pointers to just one for OSU. Arizona State continues a rugged road trip, facing No. 8 Oregon on Sunday.

Pivec added 12 points for Oregon State, which shot 54 percent for the game and made 5 of 8 from the field in the final 10 minutes while holding Arizona State to 2 of its last 14.

The Beavers controlled the glass 36-28, outscored Arizona State 46-20 in the paint and blocked eight shots. Gulich had three blocks, Pivec and Taya Corosdale two each.

Neither team led by more than nine points in a game that saw nine ties and six lead changes. Ryan and Reili Richardson made 3-pointers for a 52-49 ASU lead with four minutes left, and Ryan added a free throw for a 53-51 edge with 3:17 to go. Ryan picked up her fourth and fifth fouls in the last 3:10.